#⸾ ❖︎ ⸾ ( SOCIALIZING / o1: vivian and unji ) ⤹ •• 𝕥𝕙𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕕𝕤.

[unladielike]

    "I-I'm sorry? I'm afraid I didn't exactly catch that," Vivian proceeds to tilt her head upon not quite managing to make out the words he whispered underneath his breath. Had Unji insulted her or something? Honestly enough, she had no way of actually knowing, but before she could question him further, he soon pointed out they were in gang territory, causing her eyes to outright widen as she cradles her Ita bag, which displayed merchandise for Niles or Zero from Fire Emblem Fates, more tightly against her chest.

    "'Yodocho'?!" Vivian finds herself incredulously parroting, yet upon not wanting to be left behind, she'll quickly hasten after Unji's heels. "Holy... w-welp, on the bright side, I guess I at least don't have to take the train; plus, none of those punks prowling about could possibly hold a candle to how tough I am!" she then adds. Of course, she was truly a weakling and didn't have any muscles that would scare off any potential attackers let alone hold her own in a fight, but regardless, she didn't know how to get back to Suzuki Hotel by herself; therefore, she'll continue trailing behind him like a lost puppy.

    Still, given all the racket the local delinquents were making around them, Vivian couldn't help letting her gaze eventually wander... only to end up wincing. God, talk about barbaric. Why the hell were they possibly attacking trash cans, she wonders? Truth be told, it didn't make any sense to her; in fact, Vivian feels like vending machines would give them more bang for their buck. Either way, it doesn't take long for her eyes to absentmindedly shift forward again the moment she was glared at... not because she was scared, per say, but because she had this haunting suspicion her precious pins, key chains, and acrylic standees were suddenly at risk of being bashed by those bats they wielded.

    "R-Right! Now probably isn't the best time to take in the scenery, huh?" came her sheepish concession. Sure enough, Vivian then picks up the pace until she was walking directly beside him, for when it came down to it, she would go absolutely apeshit if those punks happened to ruin her bag or her merchandise due to her simply looking at them. "Say, um... did you happen to grow up in this neighbourhood, Zuzu?" Vivian finally goes on to question once a few minutes had passed. ...After all, Unji certainly seemed to know his way around Yodocho far better than the average Japanese citizen.

"Sometimes I wonder how are you even alive." The young man whispered to himself as he furrowed his brow at the girl's claim that she had no idea where is this place. He's aware that Vivian could be a bit of an airhead, but this part of town is really damn shady, guess he has to keep looking over her for the time she's spending in Japan.

"We're on Yodocho, part of Takamori's gang territory." He signals with his head for Vivian to follow him, the sooner they leave this street the better. "Watch yourself, okay? Ain't exactly a friendly bunch here."

As he said that, one could hear some delinquents bashing trash cans with baseball bats near them. But Zuma ignores it as he sticks close to the girl. "Suzuki's Hotel is about a 30 minute walk, shouldn't be a problem."

As he said that, the young man notices glares aimed at both him and the girl, which he responds by a glare back, and hurrying his pacing. "Don't stare at 'em, keep looking forward."

[unladielike]

    "...Wait, for real?" Vivian questions, allowing slight disbelief to lace her tone. Granted, she still doesn't think Masaru had been flirting with her, but Unji did know him a bit better than she did, so perhaps the signs were there and she simply hadn't noticed. Still, the revelation itself was all too sudden, Vivian had trouble wrapping her mind around it; in fact, it has yet to even fully sink in for her that she was potentially hit on.

    "Man, I can't believe modern day courtship has grown so complicated now, guys will no longer just ask a girl out to dinner like they seemingly used to..." she sighs while shaking her head. "But I suppose until he confirms it himself, I can afford to give him the benefit of the doubt and believe he doesn't have any ulterior motives. Then again, you probably wouldn't have to worry too much, Zuzu; after all, the human heart is very fickle, I wouldn't be surprised if three dimensional men would fall out of love with me the more they actually get to know me better."

    Granted, what she said might not be entirely true; however, Vivian would rather believe anyone who had a crush on her would end up losing their attraction or feelings towards her at some point or another than let herself be swept away by frivolous romantic fantasies... after all, doing so would only lead to her becoming disappointed once reality somehow manages to pull the rug from underneath her feet again. Either way, Unji's next words soon has Vivian redirecting her gaze up towards the sky, where the sun could be seen, peeking out over the horizon.

    "Yeah, we should get going," she finally nods before subsequently bringing herself to saunter past him... only to cease to an abrupt halt once she realizes something. "Oh, that reminds me, Zuzu... do you know how to get back to the Suzuki Hotel by any chance? To tell you the truth, your boys had distracted me so much, I guess I kinda lost track of my surroundings; in fact, I have no idea what street we currently are on," Vivian finally admits while scratching a single finger against her cheek.

"Some of 'em do, others like to think that they're slick, like Masaru." Unji rubbed the back of his neck, wondering if he has truly been behaving or if Vivian just didn't quite pick up on the hints he's been trying to laid out. But regardless, the young man thought better to warn her about this stuff. "Either way, if anythin' happens, let me know, okay? I'll talk to them if needed."

Unji liked to take care of his people, and, even though they've known each other for a short while, he considered Vivian to be one of them, one of the people ostracized by others, forced into the fringes just for being different or having a difficult past.

"Anyway, it's gettin' late, let me walk you out of this place."

[unladielike]

    Of course, she's aware Japan wasn't as conservative as most right leaning Westerners made it out to be, for these days, educational institutions were slowly starting to acknowledge or even celebrate the LGBT community, but when it came to mental disabilities and illnesses in particular... well, Vivian wouldn't be surprised if she was the first 'special needs' person Unji ever really knew.

    Why, with the topic itself being so stigmatized, he'd probably be hard-pressed to find any who were open about not being neurotypical. Unji, however, seemed relatively accepting, to the point where she doesn't mind answering any questions he may have about autism; still, owlish blinks were quick to roll off her eyelids when next he mentioned his crew.

    "Uh... not exactly? I mean, I did wish they would talk one at a time and wait for others to finish speaking first before cutting in, but I wouldn't say they bothered me," Vivian absentmindedly points out before subsequently tilting her head off towards the side. "And I don't think so? Though, one guy did compliment me a whole lot on my Japanese; then again, concluding he made a move on me from just that alone sounds like such a massive stretch. Why, as far as I was concerned, he could simply have been trying to be nice; besides, don't guys normally call a girl pretty and ask them out if they wanna score?" she later questions, blissfully unaware of just how attractive other guys found her.

@unladielike

    "Yeah, uh... I don't know if it's an autistic thing, but if more than one person is talking at the same time, I literally cannot concentrate on what's being said, let alone keep track of the conversation," Vivian sheepishly admits. Truth be told, she has no idea how knowledgeable Unji was of mental disabilities, but rather than let him believe she had hearing problems or was deaf, she figures she should clarify she has autism, meaning while she hears just fine, registering actual words was difficult.     "Like, whenever I'm watching anime, I at least have subtitles to reference and can pause the video to read everything that's being said at my own leisure; however, that is not something I conveniently have available in real life... so I had to lead you to this alleyway where it's quiet and I can finally hear my own thoughts," Vivian then tries to reason, hoping somehow, he'll understand. "After all, since we live in a society, it's not as though I can simply yell at the people around us and tell them to shut up, right? Anyways, um... what were you trying to tell me earlier?"

Zuma was familiar with some mental conditions due to the nature of his work of trying to rehabilitate folk who are on the fringes of society, he was no psychologist, but the male was confident enough that he knew a bit more than most.

Autism however, was something entirely new to the ex-delinquent, most of his experiences comes from interacting with Vivian these recent days, and even then, it felt like it was rather complex to fully grasp.

"It's cool, probably better we don't get any eavesdroppers anyway." He put his hands on his pockets, trying to give some space to the girl. Unji always been the type to accommodate those near him, especially if they require something different.

"Did anyone from my crew bothered ya? They mean well, but they can be a bit of a pain sometimes." Zuma knew his crew long enough to know that they're an acquired taste for some. "Masaru didn't try to make a move on you or anythin' right?"